Our Idiot Brother

This Paul Rudd vehicle is like a movie soufflé, light and sweet and easy to dig into despite its lack of nutritious substance. Rudd plays Ned, a shaggy stoner whose good heart and unfiltered honesty lands him first in jail as the movie begins. Once free again, these same qualities upset the personal and professional lives of his three sisters, the promiscuous Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), the tightly wound Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and harried mom Liz (Emily Mortimer). Ned’s not so much dumb as utterly guileless, and Rudd plays him with a similarly trusting generosity, allowing a supporting cast that also includes Steve Coogan, Rashida Jones and Adam Scott to shine. This is a comedy that makes up for a lack of belly laughs and quotable lines with its easygoing spirit. –Matt Semansky